The best low calorie carrot cake
If you’ve ever wanted to eat an entire carrot cake to yourself and still lose weight, this is the recipe for you! This low calorie carrot cake is fluffy, soft and super moist. Each bite of this cake is perfectly spiced and filled with delicious grated carrot all topped with a velvety smooth cream cheese frosting. And the best part? This cake contains just 72 calories per slice or 288 calories for the ENTIRE cake plus the frosting!
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Carrot cake gets a lot of slack that I have never understood. It is spiced, sweet and so warming – what is there not to love? I don’t know about you but eating an entire carrot cake for just 288 calories sounds like the most ideal way to lose weight. Being in a calorie deficit can feel really restricting if you’re a lover of desserts. There are some desserts that would contain more calories than my entire days worth! That’s why it’s SUPER important to know how to make all your favorite foods for a fraction of the calories!
And my favorite way to do that is by making low calorie cakes. My low calorie chocolate cake was such a hit that I then made this low calorie vanilla funfetti cake and that too was a massive hit! So of course I had to create a low calorie carrot cake. This low calorie carrot cake is seriously to die for. It has such a soft and moist crumb it really feels as though you’re eating regular carrot cake so you can stick to your goals without missing out.
Ingredients
Exact ingredient quantities can be found at the bottom of this page.
To make this low calorie carrot cake you will need:
Egg – This recipe calls for one room temperature egg. To quickly get a refrigerated egg to room temperature, place in a bowl of warm water for at least 10 minutes or on the kitchen counter for 30.
0 calorie brown sugar – This 0 calorie brown sugar is my go-to for any recipe that’s spiced and warm. It is a really good replacement for regular brown sugar. If you don’t have it to hand, you can replace it with any 0 calorie granulated sweetener.
0% fat yogurt – I used 0% fat greek yogurt to add moisture and volume to this cake. You can sub for regular 0% fat yogurt or even low-fat yogurt.
Vanilla extract – No cake is complete without a dash of vanilla!
Unsweetened applesauce – Applesauce is a great alternative to fats like butter/oil and eggs. It helps give the cake a soft and moist texture whilst adding a little tanginess too.
Plain/all-purpose flour – This recipe calls for plain or all-purpose flour. For a gluten free alternative, you can use gluten free flour or oat flour.
Baking powder – A little baking powder to help the cake rise.
Ground spices – A delicious blend of ground cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and cloves.
Grated carrots – I would recommend grating your own fresh carrots instead of using pre-grated carrots. Fresh carrots add a TON of moisture to carrot cakes which you don’t get from pre-grated carrots which tend to be dry.
Philadelphia lightest – To make the cream cheese frosting. Philadelphia lightest is equivalent to 3% fat cream cheese. If this isn’t something you have access to, low-fat cream cheese works too but adds a few extra calories.
0 calorie icing sugar – 0 calorie icing sugar keeps this recipe sugar-free. If you don’t have any 0 calorie icing sugar to hand, regular icing sugar works too but it adds a few extra calories. You can also DIY by blitzing granulated 0 calorie sweetener in a food processor until powder-like.
Raisins & walnuts – These are totally optional but I love adding some raisins and walnuts to my carrot cake!
How to make a low calorie carrot cake
- Pre-heat oven to 180°C (350°F). Line the inside of a 6-inch cake pan with parchment paper and set aside.
- Make the frosting by mixing together the cream cheese, 0 calorie icing sugar and vanilla extract until smooth. Set aside in the fridge whilst making the cake.
- To make the cake, whisk together the egg and 0 calorie brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add the yogurt, applesauce and vanilla extract and whisk until smooth.
- Add the flour, spices, baking powder and shredded carrot and whisk to combine.
- Transfer the batter to the lined cake pan and bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out with a few crumbs. Allow the cake to cool completely.
- Frost the cooled cake, cut into 4 slices and enjoy!
Storage
This cake can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-5 days.
more low calorie cakes…
72 Calorie Carrot Cake
Ingredients
- 1 egg
- 50 g 0 calorie brown sugar*
- 40 g 0% fat greek yogurt*
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- 15 g unsweetened applesauce*
- 35 g all-purpose/plain flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp ground ginger
- ⅛ tsp ground nutmeg
- ⅛ tsp ground cloves
- 30 g grated carrot
Cream cheese frosting:
- 60 g Philadelphia lightest or 3% fat cream cheese*
- 30 g 0 calorie icing sugar*
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 180°C (350°F). Line the inside of a 6-inch cake pan with parchment paper and set aside.
- Make the frosting by mixing together the cream cheese, 0 calorie icing sugar and vanilla extract until smooth. Set aside in the fridge whilst making the cake.
- To make the cake, whisk together the egg and 0 calorie brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add the yogurt, applesauce and vanilla extract and whisk until smooth.
- Add the flour, spices, baking powder and shredded carrot and whisk to combine.Transfer the batter to the lined cake pan and bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out with a few crumbs.
- Allow the cake to cool completely.Frost the cooled cake, cut into 4 slices and enjoy!
Video
Notes
Nutrition
This cake was really nice! It did come out a bit smaller than I expected. I added nutmeg which made it sooo much nicer. The frosting was a bit liquidy and not thick enough so, I’m not sure how you’d thicken it without adding more icing sugar as it would become too sweet. Maybe xanthan gum?
I’m so glad I found this recipe! I made it as is, but used light sour cream because I didn’t have yogurt, and I added a bit of unsweetened almond milk to the frosting to make it more spreadable. It turned out great! To me, it doesn’t taste exactly like a regular carrot cake, but good enough to kill the craving! Next time I might add a smidge of vanilla to the cake/frosting. For my fellow US buddies, if you don’t have a food scale, get one! Makes doing recipes like this so much easier.
I replaced half the flour with whey/casein/egg protein powder, and used 0% fat plain Greek yoghurt for the yoghurt and the applesauce. I had to bake it for longer, but the result was moist with a nice soft crumb, verrrry similar to a regular cc!!! Thank you for this! I also used mostly the same Greek yoghurt with just a little cream cheese, zero sugar confectioners, a dash of lemon juice and vanilla for the frosting. Yummmm
Absolutely amazing. It tastes like the real deal and does not taste low calorie at all! Delicious thank you for sharing
I used coconut flower sugar and instead of apple sauce I just used more yoghurt, I also doubled the recipe cuz it was a little too small for my baking tray. BUT all these changes didn’t make it less delicious. It was absolutely incredible, it didn’t taste like carrot a lot so maybe add more if u like that taste. For the frosting I didn’t have any of the ingredients so I used a mix of yoghurt, dates and some nuts. So this recipe is amazing and I’m already writing it in my recipe book. I loved it!
Hi Mara, so glad you enjoyed this recipe! The frosting sounds delicious too 😋
I tripled this recipe to make a bigger cake and substituted the flour with coconut flour (1 cup flour should be substituted with 1/4-1/3 cup coconut flour!) and used around 1 teaspoon of stevia drops instead of 150 grams of brown sugar substitute, and it was so delicious and moist! Thank you for sharing this amazing recipe! I didn’t have cream cheese, so I made a topping from yogurt, milk, dates, cinnamon and cashew nuts blended together, which I totally recommend!
Hi Nourah, sounds delish! So glad you enjoyed this recipe 🫶
Your frosting sounds amazing. Can you share the recipe?
this was incredible! i turned it into 3 muffins, so delicious
This is the BEST and only guilt-free carrot cake I’ve ever baked. I’ve substituted the zero calorie sugar with monkfruit sweetener, and this cake is SOOOO moist. Thank you so much for this recipe!
Hi Jessica, I’m so glad to hear you enjoyed this recipe! It is definitely one of my favorites too, thanks for the lovely review 🙂
I just discovered your recipes and they look delicious… BUT, do you have US measurements available?
Thank you – I’m dying to try these!
Hi Laney, thank you! Unfortunately I’m from the UK and have been raised using gram measurements so I have a hard time trying to convert to cups. I am working on getting an automatic convertor added to my recipes so stay tuned for that 🙂
Does the 72 calories include the walnut and the raisins ?
Hi Nnana, no it doesn’t. The calories calculated are only for the carrot cake and frosting!
Hello! The 1x Amounts are for the 1 slice? I’m not sure about the quantities.
Hi Ali, no the 1x amount is for the entire cake which makes 4 servings!
Perfect is all I can say. I doubled this recipe but really wouldn’t have needed to…just didn’t have 5 inch pan so this was my solution! I’m am so impressed with this lo-cal carrot cake and will make it again. Eating healthier is expensive…the 0 caL sugars used sure aren’t cheap but definitely worth it if your trying to cut calories! Thank you for this scrumptious 5 star recipe💐
Hi Debbie, I’m so glad you enjoyed this recipe! They can be a little pricey but they last a long time so definitely worth the money! 😊